The suspense seems to be over. It’s looking like Ben Simmons will be the number one pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday, and this comes as no surprise. Chris Haynes on Cleveland dot com was the first one to report this. He tweeted, “This morning the Philadelphia 76ers informed the camp of Ben Simmons he would be taken number one in the NBA Draft.”
It was earlier reported on Tuesday morning by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer that Simmons had worked out for the Sixers. This was something that looked like wasn’t going to happen. It was reported that Simmons wouldn’t work out for any team. But then he had a sit-down meeting with the Sixers last week and now has also worked out for them. Before it was reported that Simmons was told he would be the pick, Marc Stein of ESPN said, “Sources say Ben Simmons’ workout for the Sixers today is the strongest indication yet Philadelphia has promised to select Simmons at number one.” He also added, “There is little chance, sources say, Simmons’ agent Rich Paul would have granted Philly permission to hold a workout without such a promise.”
With the suspense of who will the Sixers take number one now over, it turns to will the Sixers trade Jahlil Okafor or Nerlens Noel on draft day. With Simmons looking like he’s coming, they have a ton of big men. With the addition of Simmons they also have Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, and Dario Saric. All indications point to them trading one of Okafor or Noel. And there’s reports that the Sixers are talking to the Celtics about the number three pick and would love to draft Kris Dunn. So Simmons will be the guy at number one, but there are still plenty of unanswered questions about the Sixers heading into the draft night on Thursday.
